The Chesapeake & Ohio had ordered six dome cars for its ill-fated Chessie train, including three dome-sleepers and three dome observation cars. When the B&O purchased the dome-sleepers for its Capital Limited, the other three went to the Denver & … Continue reading
In January, 1951, the Baltimore & Ohio introduced domes to its premiere Pullman train, the Capitol Limited. Like the Columbian, the Capitol Limited connected New York, Baltimore, and Washington with Chicago, and in later years the two were combined into … Continue reading
A B&O brochure calls the Columbian “The Train of the Year.” Although the Pennsylvania Railroad had completely re-equipped the all-Pullman Broadway Limited just 45 days before the B&O introduced the new Columbian, the nation’s oldest railroad could make the case … Continue reading
The round-tailed observation car of the California Zephyr was supposed to be the pièce de résistance. In some respects, the car was magnificent. In others, it was surprisingly plain. As shown in the cutaway diagram on the brochure below, which … Continue reading
Second only to the observation car, the dome-buffet car was one of the most elaborate cars on the California Zephyr. In front of the dome–the short end of the car–were tables and seats for 19 people, plus two small restrooms. … Continue reading
As an indication of its enthusiasm for dome cars, in 1947 the Burlington completely re-equipped the Twin Cities Zephyrs with a new dome-car train. Each train consisted of a baggage-club-lounge car, four dome coaches, a diner, and a dome-parlor-observation car … Continue reading
After taking delivery of the Train of Tomorrow from Pullman, General Motors sent the train on a 65,000-mile tour of the continent. Starting in Chicago, the train first took a shake-down and publicity cruise to French Lick, Indiana, where reporters, … Continue reading
To promote its new E7 passenger locomotive, General Motors took the unusual–for a locomotive manufacturer–step of ordering four dome cars from Pullman: a dome coach, dome diner, dome sleeper, and dome lounge. Completed in May, 1947, the cars and matching … Continue reading
When the Great Northern purchased equipment for a second transcontinental streamliner, it decided to retire the name Oriental Limited. This had been the railway’s premiere train from 1905 to 1929 and its secondary transcontinental from 1929 to 1931, when it … Continue reading
In the 1930s and 1940s, the 20th Century Limited and Broadway Limited were distinctive for only picking up and dropping off passengers in New York and Chicago (including one suburban station in each city). Passengers with intermediate origins or destinations … Continue reading
